5 GPL Stars That Should Have Been Part of Chris Highton’s Black Stars Squad

Representing the country's national football team is something often taken for granted in Ghana. The fans dismiss any international football that isn't a tournament, and club managers spend each day nervously waiting to get their players back in one piece. Even the players that go as regulars can get caught in the moment and not quite appreciate the gravity of the situation; the national team is the country's pinnacle of excellence (more often than not). 

Black Stars manager Chris Hughton on Tuesday announced a 55-man Black Stars squad for the upcoming African Cup of Nations.

 

The Black Stars manager included 11 players plying their trade in the Ghanaian Premier League (GPL) in the list. Still, there are more than a handful of players who, on form, ability, and experience, deserve a place in the Black Stars squad.

 

Here are five stars who Hughton may want to seriously consider in the future.

 

The basic mentality a player needs to possess in order to earn himself a call-up to the national team entails a strict focus on bettering club form. Keyekeh has undoubtedly achieved that at Samartex SC this season.

 

With 3goals, 1assist in 13 games (not a bad return from a midfielder), Keyekeh without a scintilla of doubt deserves a shot at representing his nation at the highest level. Arguably, one of the most underrated talents in the Ghanaian top-flight, the former Karela and Kotoko man showed bags of potential for the Samreboi based club last term, scoring and assisting his teammates at will and has continued his impressive form into the current season. 

 

The reality is that the Black Stars have an embarrassment of riches to select from at the moment but Keyekeh could prove to be a welcome addition to the squad if he would be granted the rare opportunity to compete with the other more established names. He is a player whose movement and nous can add plenty to the Black Stars side.

 

Keyekeh is a versatile midfielder who’s dedicated, hardworking, humble and open to learning. Modelling his game on Spain and Barcelona midfielder Sergio Busquet, the lanky midfielder thrives in creating for his colleagues but also adept to finding the back of the net himself.

 

Cool as a cucumber, he possesses a fine first touch and terrific footwork and is blessed with an ability to change direction with almost effortless ease, and his balance-combined with a great with a great awareness of what’s around him makes him a constant threat. Earning a Black Stars call-up will be a big moment for the Nkwantai-born midfielder.

 

Everyone loves a youth prodigy. Whether they've emerged from the lower leagues or battled their way up through a top club's academy, they force everyone to take notice. Abdul Aziz Issah caused heads to turn last season, but building on those performances this time around, everyone's necks are now aching.

 

Combining creative flair with the level of instinctive forward play of a striker, he's able to find space anywhere on the pitch. Dynamism and intelligent movement both on and off the ball make him impossible to read, but his influence in the final third stretches beyond setting up his teammates. In 6 CAF Confederation Cup appearances, the 18-year-old has scored 3 goals and has also netted 2 times and registered an assist in appearances in the Ghana Premier League.

 

The Dreams FC midfield star is so gifted when in possession of the ball, that his touch and control is mesmerising. He is able to manoeuvre his way out of the tightest of spaces, utilising his neat footwork and silky skills to evade challenge after challenge, while all the time searching for the next pass to play. He's just got that glide.

 

Issah excels not only in technical skill, surpassing most of his opponents, but also in mental sharpness, akin to a snooker player who anticipates moves ahead of his rivals. Close him down with his back to goal, and you'll be lulled into believing you're holding the winning hand. But Issah has always got an ace hidden up his sleeve, ready to release himself with a clever backheel, a turn into and then out of trouble, or a ball around the corner performed from muscle memory alone.

 

Nicknamed the ‘Ghanaian Messi’, Issah often floats around the midfield, dropping deep to spring lightning counter-attacks against sterner opposition, or operates around the penalty area to pick the lock of the more stubborn adversaries.

 

Manaf Umar is impenetrable; a rapid-fire rifle footballer- Sergio Busquet’s body with Andres Iniesta’s consciousness uploaded. But it is not because the former RTU midfielder has been comfortingly consistent this campaign that he deserves a place in Chris Hughton's AFCON squad- it is because this is his defining campaign: one in which no one has been near his level.

 

The statistics tell half the story. 6 goals and 3 assists in 14 league appearances is his best return yet, but the manner in which the midfielder has taken to leading Nsoatreman SC is at an unparalleled level right now. Umar is a very specific genre of footballer – the latest in a long line of “Sod it, I’ll do it myself” midfielders, imbued with game-changing talent and high-octane work-rate in equal abundance.

 

Manaf Umar himself is not much of a personality in terms of ego, arrogance or brilliant flashes of skill, but more of a player that quietly and confidently goes about his work.

 

An international appearance would be a heart-warming patter for Manaf Umar. Technically excellent and difficult for opposing midfielders to catch with or without the ball, he will surely be difficult to oust from the team once granted an opportunity with the Black Stars.

 

Touted as the next big thing to happen to Ghana football, the Aduana Stars attacker has been nothing short of a revelation this campaign. With his many sterling performances in his cluster of appearances for the Dormaa Ahenkro based club, so far there’s been much to admire about the chap.

 

The young attacker is a good dribbler and outwits his markers with ease. He can play as a number 10 or a false 9. He is renowned for his clever movement, where he drifts into pockets of space from a false 9 role to create angles for teammates. His intelligence with space and eye for a pass also makes him an attractive option playing behind a striker.  

 

Mintah is the leading top scorer in Ghana’s elite league with 9 goals, 3 assists in 14 games.

Players like Salifu Ibrahim make everything look easy. Whether its a probing through ball, pinpoint long pass or a sumptuous first touch, Thiago pulls it all off without breaking into a sweat. Salifu Ibrahim is a master of the subtle arts; of the carefully-placed flick and the rapid dabbed pass. 

 

He’s not especially quick, he’s not that strong, he’s not very big and he’s fairly one-footed, but he can dominate games like few others, controlling things as if half of him is a 5ft 7in footballer running around on the pitch, and the other half some sort of all-seeing deity who is able to manipulate games to his own ends. In short, he’s brilliant.  

 

The elegant midfielder has had his injury problems, sure, but when he is fully fit, there are few players more creative than him in Ghana’s elite league. The 23-year-old has been turning heads with a mixture of impressive performances and eye-catching assists for the Phobians this term. In 14 games, he has scored a goal and provided 5 assists to his teammates.

 

Ibrahim is yet to earn a cap for Ghana at senior level.